50
REVIEW X-H1 & MKX LENSES
bit of quality. The X-H1 can shoot DCI 4K to an internal SD memory card at up to 200Mbps in F-log, but only at 24 or 23.98p. The bit rate can be selected at 100 or 50Mbps to save memory, but there is a small drop in quality. If you want the usual range of 23.98/24/25/23.97/30p choices then it’s normal 4K size only, but you still have the three bit rate options. Drop to HD and you get an increase to 60p, but the bit rate tops out at 100Mbps. HD is the only option for super-slow motion, with 100 or 120fps available. Despite all that spec for making movies there are certain odd omissions, such as no headphone socket. To get around this, Fujifilm has gone to the unusual lengths of making you buy the add-on battery grip which costs £319/$329, plus two more batteries to go in it at £59/$67 (so a total of £437/$463). This grip obviously triples the battery power but also increases the maximum recording time from around 15 minutes if you’re shooting 4K or 20 minutes in HD to around half an hour for both, making it pretty essential for any serious filmmaker. But it vastly changes the form factor and overall size of the camera. Lots of stills shooters use battery grips, but very few filmmakers do. It adds bulk and size and changes how it fits in rigs, so it’s not a great solution. In fact, the camera does suffer a little from Fujifilm’s design philosophy of cool-looking, retro-styled cameras. Having gnarled aluminium knobs on the top-plate to change things like ISO is a definite nod to an old-school toolset. You soon get used to it, and if you are shooting video then it all feels very natural. The screen itself is three-way tiltable, rather than fully articulating, which would be of benefit to filmmakers to get the screen out of the way of gimbals, for example. The build quality is beefed up from Fujifilm’s older mirrorless cameras, with improved weather sealing and strengthening around the
YOU CAN TAILOR THE LENSES TO YOUR CAMERA
focus the lenses much closer than normal. Both lenses come with a zoom lever for fast adjustment of focal length, a high-quality rectangular lens hood and a screw-in lens support so you can mount the lens to a tripod or other rig. The lenses have a constant T-stop of 2.9 to guarantee constant light transmission as you zoom in. And shooting the lenses at the longer focal lengths wide open gives some very
lens mount, specifically to improve it for use with the MKX cine lenses. The 18-55mm and 50-135mm T2.9 optics are redesigned from the E-mount versions to communicate with the X-H1 electronically, so are slightly more expensive than the all- manual Sony-fit types. On each, there is an adjustable back focus button so you can tailor the lenses to your specific camera. And the lenses do retain the macro switch which you push, so you can
ABOVE Beefy. The X-H1 is sturdier than other X-series models, to cope with the demands of filmmaking.
DEFINITION AUGUST 2018
DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
Powered by FlippingBook